Abigail Hunkel (Earth-1938)
Origin Abigail Schultz always had a simple dream. She wanted to run her family's grocery store. It was a strange dream but, Abigail was different in a lot of ways. For one thing, she was tall for a girl and was on the heavy side. She was also very clumsy. This made her an easy target for local bullies. However, Abigail stood up for herself and others. This is quality is what got her married. Henry Hunkel, otherwise known as "Hunk", was fixing a fire hydrant when he saw Abigail outside her family's store. She was scolding some children who were bullying another child. Hunk was distracted by this and ended getting water from the hydrant sprayed all over him. Abigail was quick to help him. Within a year, Abigail and Hunk were married. They settled down in an apartment near Abigail's parents and had two children, Henry Jr., who was called "Huey" and Amelia. After Abigail's mother passed away, Abigail took over the store. She became well known in the neighborhood. All the children began calling her "Ma." Her peaceful life was broken when members of the local gang offered to "protect" her store in case of an "accident" befall it. Ma saw right through it and demanded they leave. Angered, the members decided to teach her a lesson. They saw her daughter, Amelia and Amelia's friend, Morty, playing outside the store. They kidnapped the children. Abigail realized what happened and contacted the police. While trying to comfort her son, Heuy mentioned how he wished Green Lantern or Hourman would save Amelia and Morty. Abigail only knew the bare bones about the heroes and asked Heuy about it. Heuy told her about how Mystery-Men would save people in danger. This gave Abigail an idea. Red Whirlwind Abigail made her own costume out of red longjohns and used a cooking pot as a mask. Abigail found out where the criminals were keeping the children. In her getup, she attacked them. The criminals were caught off guard and Abigail was always very strong for being a grocer. She held off the criminals until the police came. Abigail quickly left, with the police only catching a small glimpse of her. Due to her stocky frame and her unusual height, the police thought she was a man. The news deemed the pot wearing hero the "Red Tornado" because of her red clothing and how fast she was. Abigail thought she was done with being a hero. However, Amelia and Morty realized she was Red Tornado. Worried about getting in trouble, Abigail told the kids that they needed to keep it a secret. She said they were agents in crime-fighting and they were supposed to watch out. She expected them to just report bullying and other small crimes. Instead, they reported serious crimes to her. Abigail, wanting to right these wrongs, would dress up again. While Abigail didn't dress up as much as other heroes, she became well-known around her neighborhood. Heuy and Morty's older brother, Scribbly, eventually found out about Ma. They joined their siblings in being one of Ma's "Cyclone Kids". One day, Ma's city came under attack. While she couldn't do anything against the villain Vandal Savage, she did dress up in her costume and saved people caught in the crossfire. When the newly formed JSA became aware of her heroic actions, they offered her honorary membership. Red Retirement Ma Hunkel was a bit more active during the Worlds War since Hourman and Black Canary were off fighting the alien army. After it was over, she decided to retire from heroism. She lived a comfortable life with her husband for years. Her kids grew up and got married. She even became a grandmother when Heuy and his wife had a baby girl. However, Ma's life peaceful was life was threatened by actual villains. When JSA villains learned the identities of JSA members, they attacked their families. Abigail was more afterthought since she had never really faced any villains. Still, they wanted to make a point by attacking all JSA members. T.O. Morrow, a mad roboticist, volunteered. He needed humans to experiment on and this was a perfect opportunity. He sent his robots to Ma's store. Ma and her now adult children fought them off(Morrow sent off his weakest model since he considered a weak old woman). One robot escaped with Abigail's infant granddaughter, Maxine. Morrow thought all other JSA would be too busy with the other villains and Ma wouldn't dare face him. He didn't know Ma very well. Once again, Ma donned her Red Tornado costume. She went after Morrow. Fellow JSA heroine, Artemis, was sent to help her. Together, they defeated Morrow and saved Maxine. After that, Ma once again lived as a civilian. She passed the store on to her daughter and her husband, Morty, and retired with her husband. Hunk sadly passed away but, Ma came to terms with it eventually. She had to since it was discovered Morrow had experimented on Maxine before she saved her. Maxine had the ability to control air. Maxine was invited to be trained by a reformed JSA. Ma was also asked to be the keeper of the JSA's public museum. Ma happily accepted. Powers and Abilites Hand-to-Hand Combat: Abigail is trained in hand-to-hand combat. She is naturally very strong. Cooking: Abigail is an excellent cook. Trivia -Abigail was born on June 20, 1945. -She is sometimes called "Red Tomato" either by accident or by insult. She was taken the name with pride, even naming the JSA museum's cafe that. -It is unknown why Morrow named the robotic hero Red Tornado after her. Some think it was out repesct, some think it was an ironic insult, some think it was both. -After learning about the second Red Tornado, Ma invites her and family over for Thanksgiving every year. -Abigail is Jewish.Category:Created by MaysileeAurlis Category:Earth-1938 Category:Heroes Category:Justice Society (Earth-1938) Category:Civic City Residents (Earth-1938) Category:Earth-1938 Characters Category:Retired Characters